Reading Time: 3 minutes The following presentation won senior division honours in the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto last month. A rise of 0.8 over 130 years… Why are we paying attention to such a number? Why does it even matter? Because this rise of 0.8 C is affecting the way the world is fed! […] Read more
Agriculture is responding to climate change
Warmer oceans and retreating glaciers are being felt at the farm level, but farmers are always moving forward
UN international year to showcase pulses
Chair of Alberta Pulse Growers says event will boost competition and prompt more research and breeding
Reading Time: 2 minutes The United Nations International Year of Pulses is underway, and that’s good news for the province’s pulse producers, says the chair of Alberta Pulse Growers. “As IYP draws attention to big global issues like nutrition, food security, and environmental sustainability, this crop — which is a Canadian success story — is only going to get […] Read more
Maple leaf touts sustainability efforts
Reading Time: < 1 minute Maple Leaf Foods has launched a new website — mapleleafsustainability.ca — to highlight the company’s efforts in the areas of animal care, nutrition, environmental impact and food security. “The issues are daunting, but as Canada’s largest protein company, we want to be at the leading edge of change,” said Maple Leaf CEO Michael McCain. The […] Read more
Sowing gardens — and hope for a brighter future
A school garden may seem like a small thing but it can make a powerful difference
Reading Time: 3 minutes This is the story of Jimboy. He is my friend from the Philippines — one of the 100 million people who live on the nation’s 300,000 square kilometres of islands. And he is making a difference. Jimboy lives in the Tagoloan region which is 19 kilometres from the capital. It is largely an agricultural area […] Read more
Youth Ag-Summit: Two to represent at UN meeting
Two delegates from the 2015 Youth Ag-Summit will be jetting to Rome in October to take part in a meeting of the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security. Australia’s Laura Grubb and Kenya’s Samba Ouma were selected from 80 nominees. Ouma and Grubb are now charged with presenting the Canberra Youth Ag Declaration — […] Read more
Australia tightens rules over foreign buying of farmland
Sydney | Reuters –– Australia tightened rules on Wednesday over foreign ownership of its agricultural land amid concerns that it is losing control of its own food security, slashing the amount beyond which land purchases would require regulatory approval. From March 1, foreign purchases of agricultural land over A$15 million (C$14.51 million) will be subject […] Read more
China has deep problems, but offers opportunity for our food sector
Straight from the hip: The Asian titan is deeply in debt and its economy under stress, but it needs high-quality and safe food
Reading Time: 3 minutes China has always been regarded in the West as a superpower. But despite its recovery from the 2008 financial crisis and the perceived recent growth, China is estimated to be $23.3 trillion in debt — which is up $15 trillion in the past five years. The world’s largest user of steel (46 per cent) and […] Read more
UN declares 2014 International Year of Family Farming
Proclamation aims to put family farming higher on policy agendas
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has declared 2014 as International Year of Family Farming. The declaration aims to “help reposition family farming at the centre of agricultural, environmental and social policies in the national agendas,” an FAO news release said. The declaration aims to broaden discussion and co-operation at all […] Read more
China says over three mln hectares of land too polluted to farm
Government trying to reverse damage done by years of urban and industrial encroachment
Reading Time: 2 minutes About 3.33 million hectares (eight million acres) of China’s farmland is too polluted to grow crops, a government official said Dec. 30, highlighting the risk facing agriculture after three decades of rapid industrial growth. China has been under pressure to improve its urban environment following a spate of pollution scares. But cleaning up rural regions […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
